


The Cave

by Spelter82



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: F/M, Horror, Pranks and Practical Jokes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:15:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27310294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spelter82/pseuds/Spelter82
Summary: A little one shot for Howloween about Judy and Nick who have the weekend off. They decided to get away from the big city and take a hike with the little ones. Nick however remembers a story Judy told him. How will it end?While English is not my first language, I still tried to get the rights of Zootopia. But the contract had a loophole I didn't saw and Disney still owns it. Damn this sneaky mouse.
Relationships: Judy Hopps/Nick Wilde
Comments: 5
Kudos: 8





	The Cave

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to the guys and girls from ZAA, without your craziness my life would be boring. The idea of writing it, was a quick one and I only had 2 days time. There was no time for proofreading, so if anyone finds errors: Keep them warm and cuddly, they are yours now.

It was Howloween, the day of the year that was meant for monsters, ghouls and ghosts. At least in the big city of Zootopia. The little ones dominate the streets today, craving for candy while having fun in their costumes. The older ones will find ways around babysitting their siblings while sneaking out and have their own fun. The ZPD had much on their paws with drunken teenagers attending illegal parties. The whole night was full with the same assignment: putting drunk mammals into sobering cells or in case of teenagers, into the hospital.

Judy and Nick dodged this bullet though. After last year, when multiple mammals puked on them till they ran out of clean uniforms and the pair had to work the rest of the night smelling of cheap alcohol, Nick made a bet with Clawhauser and Proctor. Instead of sitting behind the front desk, the two had to patrol this night. Bogo was laughing when the two officers asked for the switch and why, but he agreed to give the smallest ones the weekend off.

So they drove to Bunnyburrow for the weekend, away from the turmoil. Our uneven pair were sitting In the kitchen of the Hopps-residence, planning the rest of the evening.

“So, you don’t dress up in Bunnyburrow? No candy? No trick or treat?“ the fox asked baffled “Why are we here then? We could’ve gone on a bender through the Rainforest District. We could’ve been arrested by Ben and Larry when we walked home, drunk and singing. What are we doing here?”

“Can you imagine hundreds of kits asking for candy? We would need a barn full of it.” the bunny giggled “And for alcohol, there is no better place than Bunnyburrow for that. You know, we have somebody in nearly every profession you can think of. Including” she leaned over and smiled wide “multiple alcohol distillers. So when you want to get hammered with me, we can arrange that. But beware slick, I had my fair share in my youth too.”

“Oh, then I will judge the brands you produce here with you later.” without asking, he kissed her on the muzzle and made her laugh with his whiskers. 

Judy recoiled “NICK, cut them off already, you look ridiculous. Like Duke when Wolford arrested him last year.”

“At least I don’t have fleas like him, and our squad car hadn’t to be dismantled because of the infestation. But if you insist, I will cut them back, even if I lose my foxiness.” he put his head on his paw and winked. Everyone in the kitchen started to laugh at that.

“Oooooh, your foxiness! But yes, I insist. And if we ever have to arrest Duke again, we will bind him onto the roof. Now,”, she turned to her father, “dad, is the gazebo ready for tonight?”

The patriarch turned around with hooked thumbs into his suspenders “Sure is Jude, we have the best produce of every branch, even Uncle Mike will bring some chicken for Nick.” he said proudly.

That made the fox smile “Alcohol, blueberry pies and chicken, you know how to treat your son in law. I won’t complain then anymore. Mom, are the kits ready to go on our hike? It’s getting dark soon.”

The matriarch turned to him looking a bit unsure “Are you sure you can reign them in? I mean, 40 bunnies are not easy to keep in check. Some entered puberty and are even more energetic.”

“Mom, how many times did I kitsit them? We will have no problem. Right, slick?” she nudged her husband on the shoulder.

“Nope, we will manage. Judy and I had to do multiple fluff assignments and worked with classes bigger than that.” a smug grin plastered on his face.

“Then, I will make sure they are ready in half an hour. Wait for them outside.” With that, Bonnie left them alone.

Like promised, 30 minutes later, a flock of young bunnies stormed outside, running around full of energy. Nick thought for a minute whether he bit more than he could chew. Judy intervened with a shrill whistle to get their attention.

“Listen up everyone, take a partner, we walk in pairs. Paw by paw, no exceptions.”

Her voice was stern and within a minute all children stood in formation. Nick was fascinated at how easy it looked.

“Now, Nick and I have flashlights and I know where we are going. You will love it. Therefore, you will follow me and Nick will take the end, making sure you won’t run off. Was everyone on the toilet?” she commanded. A few kits ran back into the house and came back a few minutes later.

With everything done, gear checked, the group started their hike into the woods while the sun was already touching the horizon. The leaves on the ground and in the trees, shimmered golden in the dying light. 

Our group ventured on an old path into the forest, Judy with a big smile that showed her buck teeth, a horde of bunnies in tow and a fox, not knowing what’s coming to him. The path took many twists and turns, no child was ever that far into the woods. You could get lost pretty fast. They crossed a small stream and light was fading quickly. Judy and Nick prepared the flashlights when suddenly, our red furred hero remembered a story Judy told him, making him a bit nervous.

“Hey fluff” he called “what was the story you told me last year about that bunny in the woods? How was it called, the div, dov, uff ….” he stuttered.

“The devourer.” she yelled back. 40 pairs of ears went up like antennas. 

“Yeah, that one.” this simple answer dripped of fear.

“Don’t be such a wigglenose. The story is from the time our ancestors moved to Bunnyburrow. Yes, that bunny was roaming this part of the forest and was never caught and no dead body was found.“ Judy said dramatically but made fun of him.

“So, wasn’t the myth that this bunny was bigger than me and ate other bunnies?“ now his ears laid flat on his head, showing his panic, and he looked around.

Whispering started between the kits and they huddled closer together. One brave one asked “Aunt Judy, can you tell us the story?”

She smiled back “Sure. Let's make a break there.” she pointed to a clearing. As they went out, they didn’t let go of each other's paw. Judy stood in the middle of the plane, 40 pairs of ears and eyes directed to her. When everyone was silent, she started.

“Now, this story is as old as our town. Around 800 years ago, the founding fathers of Bunnyburrow traveled through the country in search of new land to settle. When they made camp down in the valley, they liked it so much, they started to build the first houses and farms - founding Bunnyburrow. You saw the statue in the middle of town right?“

40 heads nodded, ears flopping cutely with them. Nick, who stood behind them, giggled a bit at that.

“Ok. So they tilled the first fields, word spread through the country, more families arrived and settled, one of them was the Hopps family. Richard Hopps built the first burrow and barns when suddenly, he disappeared. The whole town came to search for him, but they only found his remains.”

A gasp went through the flock of bunnies.

“Yes, I’m not lying. At first, they thought a predator killed him, because they found only gnawed off bones. His clothes and personal belongings laying besides it. They wouldn’t have known it was him if not finding that. Back in town, people only walked in pairs or more near the woods, always with weapons at paw. Hammers, scythes, knives, clubs, everything they could use. Then, on Howloween evening, they heard a rustle at the border of the forest. A group investigated the source, ready to fight, and then they saw IT:” Judy shone the flashlight under her face to make her look scary “A giant white bunny, long claws, sharp fangs, red eyes, and bloodstained shredded pants. Before they can react, it attacked them and killed two, the others were injured and ran away. When the rest of town came for support, the bunny was gone and the two bodies with it. They found them days later, or what was left of them.“

Judy looked at the group. It was so silent, you would’ve heard a need fall into the grass. All eyes and ears, including Nicks, were fixed on her, 40 noses wiggled fast.

“Now, you would ask what happened next.” again, 40 heads nodded and the cute flopping of their ears would be funny, when the history lesson wasn’t that dark.

“Ok. So the Hopps family lost three loved members and couldn’t even bury them properly. Some said they should move down the valley, away from the forest. But then, one of our ancestors had the idea to breed chicken and build the coop near the forest. They installed traps for the albino bunny in hope to kill or injure it, but these snares never went off. Sometimes a chicken or two vanished from the coop, but that monster bunny was never seen again. Today, Uncle Mike took over the chicken business, but I don’t think he ever lost one. With the thousands of chickens he has, it’s not easy to tell though. The bunny though, couldn’t be alive today, it’s dead for centuries.”

Everybody relaxed and laughed slightly. Nick was the first who regained his voice.

“That’s a terrifying story. Can you imagine a cannibalistic bunny? I think it never happened, and they just made it up… right?“

That started a little commotion and all kits agreed. A little girl spoke up “Yes Aunt Judy, it’s just a scary story right? There are no bad bunnies out here.”

Judy rolled her eyes and fidget with her paws “Yeah, maybe, maybe not, but it’s in the records of our family. You can look it up back home when you want. Maybe it was just a story, maybe not. Anyway, let's continue, our destination is close. Take your partner and follow me.”

They did reluctantly, but it was Judy Hopps, the bravest bunny on the planet, or at least for the little ones she is. The light was long gone now and the flashlight gave an eerie view into the woods. The path was nearly invisible if you didn’t know what to look for.

Unknown to the group, they were watched by someone, or more like - something.

They ventured even deeper into the woods, it was now so quiet and dark, far away from Bunnyburrow or the Hopps farm. You couldn’t see the sky anymore, only the underside of the treetops. The story forgotten, the kits were joyous again and talked about things they saw or tried to guess where their aunt is leading them. Suddenly, she turned left, off the path and after a few minutes through the undergrowth, they stood in front of a cave. The entry was small, as big as Nick, and the darkness didn’t make it more welcoming. Judy turned around to them.

“So, we are here. A secret cave I discovered when I was a teenager. Pretty cool huh?” she stood there, arms wide and smiling. A murmur went through the group, some didn’t like it, some loved it. Nick however looked around agitated, his flashlight pointing to every corner around them. “Nick, everything alright?” she asked.

“Huh, I don’t know. It feels like somebody is watching us.” his ears turned into every direction they could.

“Oh come on, it’s only this story that makes you jumpy. Remember our training.”

“Ok, maybe you’re right. I never liked horror movies or books. Let alone these campfire stories to scare little kits.”

“So, let's get into the cave then, come. Watch your steps.”

The group walked into the cave one by one, Nick illuminated the entry for them and when he reached the entrance, he heard a rustle and turned around, searching every tree, every bush. Nothing. “Damn stories.” he murmured and went into the cave.

From afar, ‘it’ ducked behind a bush, waiting.

The inside of the cave was gigantic. Like somebody hollowed it out to live in here. On the ceiling, small stalactites hung down and on the sides, their counterparts grew on the ground. The walls were flat, like somebody sanded it down. It was roughly 150 feet deep and 80 wide. The kits looked around in awe. Nick and Judy pointed their flashlights around.

One kit saw something at one wall “Uncle Nick, could you please light this wall?” The fox did without asking and froze. The kits gasped and Judy walked forward to it.

Figures were painted on the wall, showing a big white bunny and multiple smaller ones. Following the cave painting, it showed a few of the smaller bunnies run away and two appeared to be dead, the big white bunny was cheering it seems. More pictures of the white bunny showed it successes over time, with chickens and other mammals it hunted.

Suddenly, one of the kits screamed and pointed on the ground. A pile of bones was neatly stacked before the cave paintings. Judy walked to them like it was a murder scene, looking out for every stone on the ground. Crouching before the pile, she looked in disgust at them.

“They look like mammal and chicken bones. But, they are old and withered.” Her flashlight followed a trail of more bones and at the end of it, her ears fall flat when she saw the last pile. “Nick, these bones look like they are fresh.”

Her partner started shacking when he saw it “Yeah, and are those gnaw marks?”

The kits walked away from them to the other end of the cave. While the officers investigated, the silence was broken by some noise from behind. Both froze, looked each other in the eyes and turned slowly to the cave.

In the light of their flashlights, they saw it, the giant white bunny, slightly crouched, bloodred eyes, tattered remains of cloths and long sharp claws. It looked at them interested, his head twitched to the sides and when it moved it. Nobody moved in hope it will ignore them. Nick gulped when he looked up, it was at least 2 heads bigger than him, more like a wolf. One of his ears was raised, the other hung limp on the side.

After it made up his mind, the bunny opened his mouth and to the horror of his guests, a row of sharp fangs slid down in front of his other ones. A growl rumbled through the cave like from a savage beast. Without warning, it attacked Nick and with a swipe of his claws cut through his throat. He pressed his paws onto the wound but blood was pumping out rapidly. While the fox sunk on his knees, Judy jumped forward to help her husband. The monster bunny nonetheless anticipated her kick dodged it. While the smaller bunny was sailing through the air, time slowed down for her. The last thing she saw, was how the claw of the beast struck her chest and slammed her on the ground. Blood spread through the shirt and her last sound was a gurgling “no”. Her head fell to the side, blood came out of her mouth, and she stopped moving. Nick also stopped moving, laying in a pool of blood.

With both adults down, the kits just backed to the wall, crying and wailing. The giant lagomorph took small steps to them, made sure to cover the entrance, so his prey couldn’t get away. Some closed their eyes, some looked horrified at the monster in front of them. They plead for their lives, hoping in vain to survive this horror.

The monster bowed down, claws and fangs extended, growling. When all hope was lost, and they could feel his hot breath, it happened: BOOO and it started to laugh heartily.

They didn’t recognize what is happening at first, but when Nicks bloody paw shot up with his thumb extended and laughing, it slowly dawned to them. Judy pressed on her chest, pumping out a red fluid “BLOOOOD BLOOOOD AAAAAND Dead”. 

“Oh boy, my wife is milking it again.” the fox said while laughing.

“Oh yes, and kits, that was a hustle. Happy Howloween.” Judy yelled laughing, fist pumping up to the ceiling.

The kits understood now what happened to them, the dreaded Hopps joke at Howloween. All kits erupted and screamed bloody murder at them.

“Ok ok, calm down,” the reynard said while helping his wife up, “you know, we really put a lot of thinking and preparing into this. I mean, I ate chicken for months and prepare it so it looked old, Judy learned about molding and how bunny bones look like. Uncle Heinrich here“ he pointed at the white rabbit “flew over from Flemia. You should appreciate our efforts.“

“AND WHO PAINTED THE WALL?” one kit yelled.

“That was dad, he loved the old story.” Judy said while removing the packs of fake blood from under her shirt. “He and Billy came here a few months ago to paint it and make it look like it’s ancient. They did a great job.”

“Oh boy yes.” Heinrich said while removing his fake fangs “When I’ve read from the devourer in the Hopps Chronicles, I loved it. Of course, I had to be the monster.” he bowed to them theatrically. “Mattheus Heinrich Hopps at your service, main actor off the state theater of Flemia, creator and supervisor for practical stage effects.” he held up his fang contraption pridefully. It looked easy outside his mouth. With his tongue he could activate the slide system. “Nice right? And being an Albino helps too here.“

“But why are you so big, no bunny is so big, and your ear.” a little boy pointed at the limp ear.

“Oh that’s how I was born. I never could move that ear. And Flamians are that big, there are even bigger ones in my theater.” Mattheus explained, the kits eyes grew wide They never heard of gigantic bunnies that could scare a wolf.

“Now let’s go back home. I remember mom promised me a blueberry pie and I have to shower this stuff out of my undercoat.” Nick said.

Shooing the kits out of the cave, the adults followed step and the troop made their way home. Nobody was scared anymore, now that they knew it was just a practical prank. When they left the forest and the Hopps burrow was in sight, Mattheus and Nick heard something behind them. Looking back, they saw nothing. They both started to laugh “Damn story” they said synchronously and resumed their walk back home, Judy and the kits were already at the door.

Up in the trees, unbeknownst to everyone, a giant white rabbit looked at them, waiting…...

**Author's Note:**

> I hope it made you smiled a bit about the prank. The idea of the big white bunny is from my youth. We were on a school trip and ventured with our teachers into the woods and a cave. They told us the story about a big bunny attacking people whose eyes glowed red. At the cave, one of us remained outside - without our knowing. Something red blinked at the entrance. Sneakers with LEDs that light up when you walked were the hit back then, guess what the missing guy had :D
> 
> We were not afraid, but it's a funny memory.


End file.
